checking account

It’s a pretty familiar feeling for everyone at some time or another in their life. You’re doing some household chore and you realize that having some particular item would make this task more convenient, so you add that item to your shopping list. Or, maybe, you’re at the store and you see something that is […]

Have you figured out what your financial goals will be for this year? Whether you want to pay off debt, save more, start investing, or just stop living paycheck to paycheck, you’ll need to start by creating a realistic budget to help you reach your goals. Back when I was in college and didn’t earn […]

One of the best habits I’ve created when it comes to personal finance has been paying myself first. Without doing this there’s a good chance my savings would be nothing and I’d live paycheck to paycheck, even though my income has increased a lot over recent years. This is because it’s super easy to fall […]

“31 Days to Financial Independence” is an ongoing series that appears every Thursday on The Simple Dollar. You might want to start this series from the beginning! Last time, we looked at what you can do when your goals change, even in the midst of working toward a major personal finance target. Today, we’re going […]

“31 Days to Financial Independence” is an ongoing series that appears every Thursday on The Simple Dollar. You might want to start this series from the beginning! Last time, we examined insurance options along with some strategies for maximizing the value one gets out of their insurance. Now, we’re moving on to a handful of […]

One of the most influential books I’ve ever read in terms of shaping my thoughts on personal finance and helping me figure out what to do. This is one of a few books I read at my financial low point, along with Your Money or Your Life and The Total Money Makeover, that really helped […]

What’s inside? Here are the questions answered in today’s reader mailbag, boiled down to summaries of five or fewer words. Click on the number to jump straight down to the question. 1. Buy it for life: jeans 2. Water bottle for life 3. Shopping around for a furnace 4. Getting “in the zone” 5. Thoughts […]

“31 Days to Financial Independence” is an ongoing series that appears every Thursday on The Simple Dollar. You might want to start this series from the beginning! Last time, we took a look at saving and investing for educational needs, which pairs up nicely with our earlier look at saving for retirement. Retirement and college […]

An old dear friend of mine has an absolute fascination with the idea of “cleanses.” She’s constantly trying out juice cleanses and organic fruit cleanses and other such things, with the idea of clearing her body and mind of “toxins.” I’ll be the first to admit that I doubt the usefulness of juice cleanses and […]

What’s inside? Here are the questions answered in today’s reader mailbag, boiled down to summaries of five or fewer words. Click on the number to jump straight down to the question. 1. The psychology of saving money 2. To refinance or not? 3. Parents selling off possessions 4. Highly repetitive meals 5. Personal growth and […]

Have you even wanted to be one of those people who always seemed like they could handle almost any financial situation life threw their way? My fiance’s dad is one of those people and I’m always impressed how he seems to have money for any situation no matter what. This got me thinking about my […]